Excessive humidity and temperature extremes may place stress on the integrity of building structures. Such temperature and moisture extremes can cause building materials to shrink and swell thereby deforming the structure. The strain on building materials is particularly detrimental on those structures, such as windows and doors, that provide an interface between the inside and outside of a building. Also, windows and doors typically include a variety of different materials and/or parts which need to be able to move in relation to each other while maintaining the overall integrity of the unit. Under conditions of extreme humidity and temperature, both windows and doors may develop leaks where air or moisture can enter a building. Excessive humidity and temperature extremes may result in loss of integrity to the point that the window or door needs to be repaired or replaced.
A variety of monitoring systems have been developed to detect specific parameters of interest. For example, monitoring systems are described to monitor environmental conditions such as rainfall, smoke, or carbon monoxide (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,892,690, 5,914,656, 6,570,508, and 6,452,499). Still, these systems are designed as one-way conveyors of information and thus, do not allow for a user remote from the point of data collection to modify the system, or to remotely interact with the system in a proactive manner.
Monitoring systems may be used in buildings to monitor moisture and temperature (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,844,138 and 6,377,181). Known monitoring systems may include a relative humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, and a microprocessor and memory (e.g., HOBO® data logging unit manufactured and sold by Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, Mass.). In general, such systems must be locally accessed for data retrieval. Also, such systems do not allow for remote control of the system (i.e., such as allowing the user to change the measurement parameters). Thus, such systems require that a specially trained individual visit each monitoring station to obtain the data required for analysis. Thus, while such systems may provide the historical data necessary to perform a forensic analysis, such systems may be ineffective in detecting and providing notification of the risk of a future water intrusion event.
Thus, what is needed is a system for the non-destructive monitoring of a building that allows changes in humidity and/or temperature associated with a loss of structural integrity to be assessed. Also, what is needed is a system that is able to compile and simultaneously analyze data from a plurality of sensors such that the conditions in one building may be compared to conditions at similarly situated buildings. In this way, changes prognostic of a loss of building integrity may be detected and repaired in a cost-effective manner.